Mental breakdown blamed on demons

toladest

All this demon talk reminded me of an incident that happened in our hall to a friends mother. She had just had a baby, her 4th, that was unexpected. Her other 3 kids were much older. (12 years and more) Shortly after the birth of the baby she had a nervous breakdown. That lead to an immediate response by the elders. They went to the home and helped her husband go through every belonging they had to look for anything that may have brought demons into the home. In the end they found one book that had some vague reference that was thought to be demonic. They burned the book in the fireplace and threw out the ashes. Even as a good JW at the time I thought it was VERY bizzare to think that demons caused her breakdown. I mean REALLY! She just had a baby, and she did not want to have to start over. On top of that having 3 teenagers and her husband was not very "strong" in the truth. He also drank a lot.

The other really bizzare thing that happened in that incident was that all the "nursing mothers" got together and took shifts nursing her baby while she was in the hospital. My mom was one of them. I thought that was really wierd. Turned out that the mom did not nurse her after she returned anyway.

Anybody else know of times that mental illness was blamed on demons or was this just an isolated incident?

blondie

The WTS has reflected the ideas of mental illness around them.

Officially, the mostly admit that mental illness is not demon-caused but cannot bring themselves to rule it out totally. That way the WTS maintains control over its members.

***

Sent Items ***

w63 11/15 p. 679 Foreview of God’s New Order of Things ***

In this world of which Satan is the invisible ruler, mental illness abounds. Some cases of this are outright obsession by demons who are making a concerted attack on the minds of men today.

g86 9/8 p. 10 Mental Illness—Is There a Cure? ***

But knowing that mental illness is a disease helps one to have a balanced view of it. Irene, for example, feared that her illness was caused by an attack by the demons. While it is possible that in some cases demonic forces are involved, the Bible does not teach that all illnesses are caused by the demons. (Ephesians 6:12; compare Matthew 4:24; Mark 1:32-34; Acts 5:16.) More often than not, when a person hears voices or manifests bizarre behavior, an illness such as schizophrenia may be involved.

Irene was greatly relieved to learn that her illness was not of demonic origin. She sought medical help and found some relief. Recall, though, that the Bible tells of an ill woman who "had been put to many pains by many physicians and had spent all her resources and had not been benefited but, rather, had got worse." Only Jesus Christ was able to heal her. (Mark 5:25-29) Medical science today is likewise limited. True, one can take reasonable steps to attain a measure of relief. But rather than getting trapped on a treadmill of searching for an elusive cure, some may simply have to learn to live with and endure the problem.

the_classicist

Gag unto me with a spoon.

Such superstitious nonsense! They might as well lie in the mud and push berries up their noses.

xjwms

Blondie

You were really fast with the info.

WOW

mustang

If this were 30 years ago, and this was a CO visit week, we might have a part on the meeting that goes something like this:

New things learned:

Burn/throw out questionable items;

You may be nutz, live with it;

Do more: service, prayer, meetings;

Lie in mud & Push berries up your nose;

Mustang

Oh, happy horse$hit!!!! I just couldn’t resist!!! class

Balsam

Demon nonsense, nothing but continued fear of the imaginary world of the Bible.

I can't tell you the witnesses that thought they were demon affected and ended up in mental hosptials. It happen over and over again, it was so friggin bizarre. But like all witnesses I went along with the concept. Believing in demons just prevents sick ones from getting real medical help.

mjarka911

I think he GB went to the same psych school as Tom Cruise

crazyblondeb

When I was a young teenager I started having nightmares and bad insomnia.It really got bad. The elders and my parents answer-- they had the damn nerve to BURN my stuffed bear that I had for years. He was my only comfort. NEVERMIND the fact that my stepdad was sneaking in my room at night, molesting me!! (I only smell one demon here, and it wasn't my teddy bear!!

garybuss

Here the mentally and sometimes psychically ill Witnesses thought they were demon possessed. When my first wife had leukemia she had me hauling all kinds of stuff to the burn barrel. She went through the house with a fine tooth comb. She was looking for anything that was received used from someone we didn't know, like from a garage sale.

The elderly woman who owned the house where we had the Tuesday night book study was recently widowed. Her son was in the state mental hospital with Schizophrenia and she was having delusions and hallucinations. She told my dad and my uncle on Tuesday night that she was being bothered by the demons. They didn't know what to do so they went home with the rest of us. That night she committed suicide by tying brinks around her neck and drowning herself in the bath tub.

jeanniebeanz

Ain't the new light dispensed by the FDS grand?

My God, these people are stupid. Just unbelievable, Gary. What a tragedy...

J

Mental breakdown blamed on demons

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